Husk

by Dave Zeltserman

  By now it was five o’clock, and I’d pretty much come to the decision that I was wasting my time looking for either carpentry or auto repair work. And that my arguments about being a legitimate worker and having been born in this country were falling on deaf ears, and would continue to do so until I got myself a social security number, which I had no idea how I’d be able to do.

  I had an hour and a half walk ahead of me to get back to Jill’s apartment. As I made my way, I tried not to think of how much I wanted to round up all those who had treated me with scorn that afternoon, so I could put them in burlap sacks and make one last delivery to my clan.

  TWELVE

  I’d knocked but got no answer, and as I was working the key into the lock the door swung open and a blonde girl stood grinning at me. She was slender and the same height as Jill, but she wasn’t Jill. Her hair wasn’t the same golden color, her eyes slate gray instead of blue, her face rounder and fleshier. The way she grinned at me left me cold. She might’ve been pretty in her own right, but I couldn’t tell because when I looked at her I saw only one of them. If I had picked her up at that rest stop in Massachusetts instead of Jill, I would’ve had her quickly in a burlap sack and by now would be either driving back to the clan homestead or already there. In any case, I stood blinking at her, wondering whether I had somehow gotten confused about which was Jill’s apartment and had ended up at someone else’s.

  She let out a short braying laugh before putting a hand to her mouth. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, her voice husky and very different from Jill’s. ‘You look so startled. You must be Charlie. I’m Brittany, Jill’s BFF. Come on in and I’ll explain what’s going on.’

  I didn’t know what BFF meant, but it was easy enough to guess she was a friend of Jill’s. I followed her into the apartment, and she made a beeline for the couch that was my bed at night and sat with her right leg tucked underneath her. She patted the spot next to her for me to join her, her grin reflecting her amusement. She could’ve sat further toward the end of the couch so there would’ve been comfortably enough room for both of us, but instead sat in the middle of it, which would force me to sit closer to her than was proper, especially given that the skimpy material she was wearing left her thighs completely revealed. I hesitated briefly, but if she was Jill’s friend, I didn’t want to insult her, so I reluctantly joined her even though I was sitting so close to her that I could feel her breath on my face. She might’ve appeared short and slender, but a glance of her exposed thighs had me thinking how the women back at the clan would’ve been able to trim a nice amount of meat from them.

  Since she was close enough to do so, she reached out and touched my arm. She said, ‘Jill told me how you rescued her yesterday after that major league a-hole stranded her during their drive back to New York.’ Her grin tightened. ‘I’d like to thank you for that, but it’s too bad you didn’t punch that bastard out.’

  I knew what a bastard was, but wasn’t sure what an a-hole was, although I assumed it was a profanity of some sort. ‘You don’t seem to have any problem speaking bluntly,’ I said.

  ‘You bet I don’t, especially when it comes to talking about what a dirty, rotten bastard Ethan is.’

  I accepted that. ‘Where’s Jill now?’

  ‘I’ll tell you in a minute. Let me pour us some wine first.’

  On a small, low wooden table in front of the sofa was an open half-full bottle containing what must’ve been wine. Also on the same table were three glasses, two of them used. I’d never drunk wine or any other fermented beverage before. While these types of beverages were shunned by my own clan, that wasn’t necessarily true of all the clans of my kind. I’d never heard of any of them fermenting grapes, but I had heard that the Carlisle clan in Ohio distilled beets and the Pachett clan deep in the Kentucky hills did the same with corn.

  This girl, Brittany, reached for the bottle, and as she poured wine into both glasses I looked at her in profile. Since she was a friend of Jill’s, I tried to think of her as something other than one of them. But I just wasn’t able to trick my mind into doing so.

  The wine was poured, and she handed me one of the glasses. I knew it was made from red grapes and I’d been smelling it from the moment I stood on the other side of Jill’s apartment door, but the taste of it still surprised me. It had a smooth, almost velvety, texture and a rich earthiness to it that I didn’t expect. I took another taste and decided I liked it.

  ‘A fairly inexpensive, but decent Malbec,’ Jill’s friend said, nodding slightly as she recognized that I was enjoying the taste of the wine. ‘You’re supposed to be able to taste dark cherry, plum, and coffee flavors. I’m not sure I can pick out any of those. Well, maybe the cherry. But when Jill called me to tell me what happened yesterday and how jerk-faced Ethan’d come by this afternoon to try to pull his usual tricks, I had to bring over whatever wine I had lying around.’

  ‘What usual tricks?’ I asked, my voice sounding cold and unfamiliar as it echoed in my head.

  Her eyes partially glazed and her lips puckered as if she were tasting something unpleasant. ‘What Ethan does every time he acts like a total asshole and does something really rotten to Jill. He came over here with his tail between his legs, apologizing, but at the same time trying to convince Jill that it was her fault and that she’d egged him on and brought about his bad behavior. Fortunately, this time Jill didn’t buy it. Stranding her on the highway was a new low for him, but I think you being in the picture may have given her the strength to, hopefully, give old Ethan the heave-ho for good. For that, I thank you.’

  ‘Where’s Jill now?’

  She shrugged. ‘A glass of wine wasn’t enough to settle the girl down, not after the way that bastard wound her up. She had to go out and blow off some steam. A four or five mile walk ought to do the trick. She wanted me to let you know she’ll be back in time for the two of you to go out to dinner as planned.’ She reached over to touch my arm again. ‘This will give me time to get to know you better, which I believe is more than prudent given that you’re in her life now, at least as long as she’s putting you up—’

  ‘I didn’t ask Jill to do that.’

  ‘I know. Jill’s an amazingly kind-hearted girl, far too kind-hearted at times, and no doubt you couldn’t resist her invitation.’ She smiled as if this were all a joke, but from the intensity sparkling in her eyes I knew she was dead serious. ‘Not that I can fault you for that. But this is why I need to make sure you’re not another asshole like Ethan. Expect to be grilled, Charlie Husk.’

  She questioned me as she had threatened, delving into all aspects of my life, and I submitted to it with as much good humor as I could muster. What choice did I have? She seemed to hold some influence over Jill and, besides, I couldn’t fault her for looking out for Jill’s best interests.

  Whenever I could answer her honestly, I did; otherwise, when possible, I stretched the truth only as much as necessary. Surprisingly I only had to lie outright half a dozen times. When she asked about my family and upbringing, I was able to answer her truthfully, omitting certain details. When she asked about my work, I was able to tell her honestly about my home-building, while not mentioning what my other duties for the clan had been. When she asked about my hobbies, I simply told her reading, keeping the van mechanically sound, and gardening. The last was an exaggeration, but I had spent many hard days working in the fields between the ages of seven and fifteen before the clan gave me other responsibilities and decided gardening would sound less suspicious than farming, given that she had already asked me about life in Manchester, New Hampshire, and the times I’d driven through that city looking for pickups I had never seen any working farms.

  She seemed skeptical of my answer when she asked if I had a girlfriend back home. With an accusing eye, she said, ‘A total scumbag might latch on to someone vulnerable like Jill so he can have a free place to stay in New York for a few days, plus a pretty girl to screw around with, before heading back home to his main squeeze in New H
ampshire.’

  I could only guess what she meant by the word squeeze. ‘That may be true, but that’s not the case with me,’ I said. ‘Jill is far more than pretty, she’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met. But assuming she’s willing, I will not allow myself to become romantically involved with her until I’ve found work and got my own home. In fact, I spent all day today searching for work.’

  ‘That’s a good story,’ she said, not believing me.

  I handed her the three cards that were given to me at different construction sites before the man in charge at each site realized I didn’t have a social security number.

  ‘All three of them are interested in hiring me in the future when positions become available,’ I said.

  While she studied the cards, I took the money out of my wallet – what I had left of the eleven hundred dollars I stole from the well-fed orange-haired man, plus the $200 Sergei paid me for the van. I handed her the money, which she counted before giving it back to me.

  ‘That should prove to you that I’m looking for work here. I’ve also sold my van. Which is why I now have that money, and it should further convince you I have no intention of returning to New Hampshire.’ I clamped my jaw shut as I glared at her, the indignation I was feeling and showing genuine. My voice strained, I added, ‘I do not have a girlfriend waiting for me in New Hampshire. The truth is I have never had a girlfriend.’

  I thought this latter statement would impress on her the seriousness of my intentions regarding Jill. Instead, her eyes narrowed and she looked at me as if I were a liar.

  ‘You’re twenty-eight, right? That’s what you told Jill. And you’re telling me you’ve never had a girlfriend?’

  ‘Before yesterday I’d never met anyone I felt strongly enough to want to court,’ I said, which was both the truth and a deception. I’d never had the chance to court any of my kind, since the only untaken womenfolk back at my clan were my own kin, and Jill was the first and only one in their world whom I didn’t see as one of them. Of course, there was Patience, but she was never someone I would’ve willingly courted, nor was she someone I ever felt any friendly feelings toward.

  ‘So you’re trying to tell me that someone who looks like you is a virgin!’ she said, her tone incredulous.

  ‘I did not say that,’ I said.

  ‘So you prefer meaningless hookups instead of relationships? No surprise there.’

  I had finished the glass of wine she had given me, and I realized it had made me talk more freely, saying things I normally wouldn’t have. As well as draining her own glass she had drunk additional wine before I arrived, and most likely it had had the same effect on her.

  ‘You have had too much wine,’ I said.

  ‘Really?’ An angry burst of laughter escaped from her. ‘I don’t think so—’

  ‘You must have, if you believe you have the right to ask me about such private matters. I’d rather rip out my tongue than ask a woman I’ve just met how many boyfriends she has had, or whether she’s had meaningless sexual hookups.’

  Red peppered her cheek. Fortunately, many months back during one of my journeys into their world I had read a newspaper article which’d familiarized me with the term ‘hookup’ (at least in the sense she’d used it), so I was able to understand her accusation.

  ‘You’re right,’ she said. ‘I was out of line. Let’s blame it on the wine. But my heart’s in the right place. I’m only trying to protect my girl. You got to admit, those girls in Manchester must have ridiculously lousy taste if none of them ever nailed down a good-looking stud like you and planted their flag.’

  Outwardly my countenance showed little, but inwardly I smiled as I thought about telling her how I’d picked up enough girls in that New Hampshire city to know that they tasted the same as everyone else. Fortunately I hadn’t drunk enough wine to slip up and say something like that out loud.

  She smiled as if to show that her insulting manner toward me had all been a misunderstanding.

  ‘It’s so easy to get jaded living here in New York and think all men are devious scum, and forget that they might grow them differently in places like New Hampshire. Jill insisted that you’re one of the decent ones, and I’m beginning to think she might be right. Friends?’

  That wasn’t much of an apology, but I saw no advantage to not taking the hand she offered me. Her skin was cool to the touch. I wasn’t sure of the proper etiquette involved in shaking hands and how much time was too little or too much, but after only a few seconds a key sounded in the door. I released her hand and watched as Jill entered her apartment.

  As soon as Jill saw me she smiled in a way that made me smile myself. Next, she gave her friend a curious look. Her friend bounded off the couch and gave Jill a hug, which Jill reciprocated.

  ‘Charlie’s been a good sport,’ this Brittany girl said, after the hug had ended. She winked at me (and I briefly saw her as Brittany and not as one of them) and added, ‘I’ve been giving him the third degree, asking him stuff I wouldn’t have stood for. He’s a good guy, I think. I like him.’

  Jill’s cheeks reddened. ‘Thanks, I guess.’ She turned to me. ‘Charlie, I swear, I didn’t ask or want Brittany to do that. Though I should’ve known better. I’m sorry.’

  ‘That’s a hundred percent true,’ Brittany said to me. Then to Jill, ‘And what’s also true, Jill, darling, you should’ve known if you gave me the chance I’d be cross-examining the witness.’ She let out another short burst of her braying laugh. ‘I don’t want to interfere with your dinner plans. I’ll call you later.’

  The two of them embraced again, and after they’d separated Brittany waved at me and I awkwardly waved back. (Waving goodbye is not a custom my clan is familiar with, but I had encountered it in my readings, so I understood the expected response.) While my thoughts were too scattered at that moment to understand why, I knew as I watched her leave that Brittany was someone I had to be careful of. That she had the potential of bringing me trouble.

  THIRTEEN

  Jill had chosen a vegan restaurant nearby, and as we walked to it her hand found mine.

  ‘I know we’re not officially dating,’ she said. ‘But it doesn’t feel right walking like this without holding your hand. You don’t mind, do you?’

  ‘No, I don’t mind.’

  I was staring straight ahead so wasn’t looking at Jill, but I could sense that she was grinning. It was probably over the gruffness of my voice and the way my words almost stuck in my throat. Her body softly bumped against mine, and for a moment I could barely breathe.

  ‘Thank you for putting up with Brittany.’ Jill laughed, and it was nothing at all like her friend’s braying noise. Instead it was light and lyrical, and it warmed my heart to hear it. ‘She’s in law school, and sometimes forgets she’s not a prosecutor yet. I should’ve known she’d cross-examine you, but I wasn’t thinking.’ There was a pause where I could feel her mood darkening. ‘She must’ve told you that Ethan came over. The jerk who stranded me on the Mass Pike yesterday.’

  ‘Yes, she told me.’

  ‘He put me in such an awful mood. I needed to bitch to someone, so I called Brittany, who’s been my best friend since forever. But a glass of wine and bitching didn’t help. I needed to walk off my emotions.’ She laughed again. This time it wasn’t as lyrical, and there was an angry edge to it. At the same time, her grip on my hand tightened. ‘But again, I apologize for leaving you to Brittany. I swear, it wasn’t a setup on my part. I didn’t want her digging into you like that. It couldn’t have been much fun.’

  ‘I didn’t mind,’ I said. ‘She was only looking out for you.’

  We walked the next block without either of us saying anything. Jill broke the silence by commenting that she didn’t see my van parked near the building. ‘I hope it wasn’t towed.’

  I knew the word ‘towed’, but I wasn’t sure what she meant. Was it possible that strangers in this city attached chains to vehicles and hauled them away? I didn’t ask Jill for an
explanation, and instead told her that I’d sold the van. ‘I didn’t need it any longer. I’m where I want to be.’

  I felt her body stiffen. Her hand slipped free of mine. ‘What happened to your stuff?’ she asked, her voice different than earlier. ‘You didn’t bring any of it up to my apartment.’

  ‘I didn’t take anything with me when I left.’ I hesitated before adding, ‘I wanted to come here and start life over.’

  She stopped. I turned to her and saw that a hint of fear showed over her face, which made me feel weak inside. And I heard that same fear in her voice as she asked whether the police were after me.

  ‘No, nobody’s after me. That’s not it.’ My head was swimming over how nervous Jill had become. It was as if at any moment she might take flight and run away from me. I told her how I hadn’t lived in Manchester for more than a few years. I despised every lie I told her, though I had no choice. But then I came clean, at least as much as I could.

  ‘I grew up in a small community in New Hampshire,’ I said, my voice hollow in my ears. I shifted my glance so that I stared blindly past Jill, afraid to look at her face any further. ‘It’s a forgotten-about place that few know exist. I might not eat animal meat, but my kin aren’t enlightened. They’re backward folks, living in many ways like people did hundreds of years ago. They tolerated me reading books, but they weren’t happy that I did so and before I left many of them thought I’d read enough books already. I don’t want that type of life. And I didn’t want to bring any of those memories with me. Manchester was still too close to them, but New York is far enough away.’

  I’d betrayed my kin. I’d pretty much ripped a knife through all their hearts. But I didn’t care. All I cared about was Jill not running away from me. And not being afraid of me. I was deceiving her in what I said, omitting important details. I wasn’t about to tell her about what my kind needs to do to survive, or about the nearly two thousand of them who during my lifetime had been abducted and brought back to the clan, or how their crushed bones help fertilize our fields and filter our well water. And I didn’t tell her about the cravings, about how bad I knew they were going to get, and how I had no idea what I could do so that I could live with them. Still, as deceptive as I was, there was a good amount of truth in what I said. I didn’t want that life anymore. Not as long as I had a chance of being with Jill. Even if the cravings become something intolerable.